“I am not prepared to accept a development of this kind in a green belt location and I have written to Kent County Council to urge them to reject the proposal,” said Dr Stoate.

“In the last few years there has been a huge amount of development in the area associated with the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and the construction of the new International Rail Station at Ebbsfleet. This has caused a lot of disruption to residents in Southfleet and Betsham and has also resulted in the loss of a large amount of previously undeveloped land.”

“The construction of this transfer station would cause further unnecessary disruption to the lives of local residents and would generate a considerable amount of extra traffic on local roads and indeed on the A2 itself both during and after construction. As Station Road and the A2 are already heavily used and likely to be even more intensively used in the future as a result of the creation of Ebbsfleet Station and new housing and commercial development in Eastern Quarry and the Ebbsfleet Valley, I question the wisdom of creating this facility and therefore placing extra stress on these roads. Moreover the creation of this facility would serve to further erode the rural character of the parish and the distinctive identity of the area.”